Blog

It's that time of year again...time to start planning for your Pensacola and Perdido Key Christmas Photography pictures!This year's Christmas Mini Sessions will take place on 4 dates with your choice of 2 locations and morning and afternoon session times. Beach sessions will be the afternoons of November 16th, 23rd, and 24th and Woodsy sessions are available the afternoon of November 17th and the morning of November 23rd. Specific location addresses and times will be given after booking.

NOTE: Date and time slots are notated Beach or Woods and have the time frame listed. Make sure you choose the location and time of day you want.

Custom designed holiday cards, prints, and additional digital image downloads will be available for purchase when you receive your viewing gallery. Viewing galleries will be up within 7 days of your session to ensure plenty of time for selection and any additional products you may decide to purchase.

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Photography offers Family Christmas Photography in northwest Florida that captures your family’s connections, emotions, and moments in a fun, natural way. Located in Pensacola, service areas include but are not limited to Perdido Key, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach, Navarre, Pace, Milton, and Cantonment in Florida and Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, Fairhope, and Daphne in south Alabama.

A Rainbow baby is a child born after a miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, or infant loss.​Did you know that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in a loss?Not 1 in 4 women - 1 in 4 pregnancies.

Since most women become pregnant more than once in their lives, that drastically increases the chances that she'll suffer a loss. That means that this loss affects a lot more than just 1 in 4 women!

In October 1988, President Ronald Reagan Proclaimed October as National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. “When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them. This month recognizes the loss so many parents experience across the United States and around the world. It is also meant to inform and provide resources for parents who have lost children due to miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, stillbirths, birth defects, SIDS, and other causes.”

​I am 1 in 4. And there are so, so many more of us who live in silence.

And that's where my Rainbow Baby Project comes in. A little over a year ago, I started planning out, and collecting gowns for a group photography session honoring the babies who couldn't stay as well as the babies who could.

In August I put out a model call for moms of rainbow babies. The response I received was amazing!

Each of these amazing women below has experienced the loss of a pregnancy (or pregnancies). Some of them are pregnant with their rainbow baby. Some of them are holding their rainbow baby. Some of them are both.Their stories matter.Your story matters.

These amazing mamas were strangers when they arrived for our photography session that evening in Perdido Key, FL. Each of the pregnant mamas are due within a month of each other, and by the end of our sunset session, they were all friends. In fact, they're still in touch with on another on their journey!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - it's so important to take yearly family photos! Babies grow into toddlers in the blink of an eye. In the next blink, that toddler is a sassy 5-year-old. Faster than you can even imagine, that sassy 5-year-old is telling you that a boy (with a car) asked her to the Homecoming dance!

The triptychs of the girls only cover a 3.5 year span.Harrison's (at the top) covers a 4.5 year span.Each of them, though, has changed in only a few short years!

I try to take pictures of the kids each spring, family pictures each fall, and a Christmas pajama photo each holiday season. I'll admit that I've missed a couple of springs over the years, and my husband and I don't always make it into the fall family photos. But I make sure to update the kid's portraits at least once a year, and we never miss the annual Christmas pj portrait.

These photos were taken in the springs of 2015, 2016, and 2018 respectively.I try to vary our locations, and now that the kids are getting older, I let them have a say as well. On the left, the kids were 11-months, 8, and almost 10. On the right, they were 5, 11, and 13!

As I said, we don't miss our annual fall family photos! The top photo was taken in 2015 and the bottom is from last fall, 2018. We haven't taken this year's photos yet, but a color palette was picked, outfits are being chosen, and the girls have decided on this year's location. As soon as my husband is home for a couple of days, we'll go take them.Now that the kids are older, between marching band, chorus, and soccer finding time to have our photos made as a family requires more planning to schedule but is just as important. Last year's photos were spontaneous - we were all home at the same time, the sun was getting lower in the sky, and everyone was in a good mood - so I threw outfits at everyone and off we went to Tarklin Bayou State Park.If you decide to roll with spontaneity like we do, having a handful of good Pensacola area photography locations in mind helps a lot! We've had sessions at Tarklin Bayou, Johnsons Beach and Naval Live Oaks (both part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore), The photo in front of the gorgeous azalea bushes was taken at the home of Leila's violin instructor. We've also utilized pretty green spaces in our neighborhood as well as local parks.

An annual Christmas pajama photo is also a requirement around here! I prefer to have them just include the kids (and the dog when he's willing), but last year the girls really wanted my husband and myself in the picture too. If you can't tell, I have one kid who marches to the beat of her own drum and prefers to "coordinate but not match."

​Now don't get me wrong, looking back of these photos while preparing for this post made me a bit teary and nostalgic.Look at those sweet babies!But then, I see the beautiful young women our girls our growing up to be, and I see how sweet and handsome our big 5-year-old boy is! I'm so happy to have these pictures that allow me to literally re-watch my children grow.

Looking back over these photos also reminds me of the drama, threats, and bribes that often occurred to get some of those smiles. (I'm looking at you Christmas 2016 and spring 2016.) But that's the other thing, allowing the kids to have input into outfits and locations nowadays has helped with the attitudes as well. If you take nothing else away from my trip down memory lane, I hope you remember that - let the kids help plan something (even something as small as what necklace or hair bow they wear - if they have a stake in the game, they're much more likely to be willingly cooperative!

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Photography offers Family Photography in northwest Florida that captures your family’s connections, emotions, and moments in a fun, natural way. Located in Pensacola and also offering maternity, newborn, and birth photography, service areas include but are not limited to Perdido Key, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach, Navarre, Pace, Milton, and Cantonment in Florida and Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, Fairhope, and Daphne in south Alabama. Family portrait sessions tend to book up to one month in advance, while maternity, birth, and newborn sessions should be booked early in the second trimester to ensure availability at the time of delivery. Amanda offers a full service experience including a pre-session consultation, exclusive access to her Maternity and Newborn wardrobe, an online proofing gallery to share and download your included high-resolution digital images, and an array of professional print, canvas, and album options. I can’t wait to hear from you and help create your own beautiful heirloom memories!

Mom, Jennifer, had a plan.She wanted her second baby, a girl, to be born vaginally.Having had her first baby, a boy, a little over a year and a half before via cesarean, this meant she needed to find a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) friendly obstetrician and that she'd need to deliver at Sacred Heart Hospital. Finding a truly VBAC supportive provider isn't always an easy task, but Jennifer found a wonderful, supportive doctor AND she made the decision to hire a doula to offer additional support for herself and her husband.

The evening before Lilly's grand entrance into the world, Jennifer texted to let me know that she'd been having strong, but inconsistent contractions all day. Just under 3 hours later, they were headed to the hospital to get checked.By midnight I was on my way to the Maternity and Women's Center at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, FL. Jennifer was amazing. She was so calm as she tried out just about every position in the book to labor her baby down. Her husband was so involved and sweet to watch as he did everything he could to be a helper and part of their baby's birth.And, much to mom's surprise, dad was right there with me when I was capturing our first glimpse of baby's crowning head!

Baby girl, Lily, made her grand entrance earth-side just before 5am 6 days before her "official-due-date."

Other than the VBAC, mom's main desire was for a lotus birth. She wanted for the placenta to be delivered while baby was still attached to it via the un-clamped umbilical cord.

According to the American Pregnancy Association, studies are finding that delayed cord clamping can benefit both preterm and full-term babies by increasing placental transfusion, a 60% increase in red blood cells and a 30% increase in neonatal blood volume. Another advantage of DCC is the decreased risk of deficiency anemia due to an additional 40 - 50 mg/kg of iron transferring to the newborn.https://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/delayed-cord-clamping-risks-benefits/

Did you know that dads can do skin-to-skin?They totally can! And it's SO precious!This dad had his shirt off within a couple minutes of his baby girl's delivery and was more than ready for his one-on-one time.

After photographing this big, beautiful girl's stats, doula, Lindsey, with Belly to Cradle, LLC and I headed out so this family could get a bit of rest of snuggles.

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Photography offers Birth Photography in northwest Florida that is timeless and unforgettable. Located in Pensacola and also offering maternity, family, and newborn photography, service areas include but are not limited to Perdido Key, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach, Navarre, Pace, Milton, Cantonment, and Crestview in Florida and Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, Fairhope, and Daphne in Alabama. Maternity, birth, and newborn photography sessions should be booked early in the second trimester to ensure availability at the time of delivery. Amanda offers a high-end, full service experience including a pre-session consultation, exclusive access to her Maternity and Newborn wardrobe, an online proofing gallery to share and download your included high-resolution digital images, and an array of professional print, canvas, and album options. I can’t wait to hear from you and help create your own beautiful heirloom memories!

One of my lesser utilized photography session options is my Petite Newborn Portrait Session. This is a 1-hour, in-home newborn photography session that is perfect for the family who's maybe on a budget but still wants to make sure their new baby's details are captured.

These sessions are awesome because, since baby is wrapped for all or most of the session, baby will be happy and content and doesn't have to fall asleep. In fact, this little girl didn't sleep a wink until the last 10-minutes I was there. But her her pictures turned out fabulously!

If you're looking for a newborn portrait session without all of the bells and whistles that still captures all of baby's perfect new-ness, give our Petite Newborn Portrait Session a try.

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Photography offers Newborn Photography in northwest Florida that is timeless. Located in Pensacola and also offering maternity, family, and birth photography, service areas include but are not limited to Perdido Key, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach, Navarre, Pace, Milton, and Cantonment in Florida and Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, Fairhope, and Daphne in south Alabama. Portrait sessions tend to book up to one month in advance, while maternity, birth, and newborn sessions should be booked early in the second trimester to ensure availability at the time of delivery. Amanda offers a high-end, full service experience including a pre-session consultation, exclusive access to her Maternity and Newborn wardrobe, an online proofing gallery to share and download your included high-resolution digital images, and an array of professional print, canvas, and album options. I can’t wait to hear from you and help create your own beautiful heirloom memories!

This is my fourth year photographing this sweet family! When we started, little man was not yet even 2. Now he's a big boy in kindergarten and big sister is in middle school!

For this year's family portraits, we decided to walk around downtown Pensacola. Downtown is full of beautiful buildings, grassy spaces, public parks, and art installations - all perfect for a nice range of photography backdrops.

​Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Photography offers Family Photography in northwest Florida that captures your family’s connections, emotions, and moments in a fun, natural way. Located in Pensacola and also offering maternity, newborn, and birth photography, service areas include but are not limited to Perdido Key, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach, Navarre, Pace, Milton, and Cantonment in Florida and Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, Fairhope, and Daphne in south Alabama. Family portrait sessions tend to book up to one month in advance, while maternity, birth, and newborn sessions should be booked early in the second trimester to ensure availability at the time of delivery. Amanda offers a full service experience including a pre-session consultation, exclusive access to her Maternity and Newborn wardrobe, an online proofing gallery to share and download your included high-resolution digital images, and an array of professional print, canvas, and album options. I can’t wait to hear from you and help create your own beautiful heirloom memories!

The first time I chat with upcoming birth clients, one question each asks is some form of, "When do you come to the hospital?", "When should I call you?", "How do I know when to call you?" My answer is always the same - my goal is to be with you by the time you're at 6cm or before you enter the transition phase of birth.

Transition is the final phase of the first stage of labor. During this stage mama progresses from 7cm to 10cm - usually in 30 minutes to 2 hours time. Often during this phase, she starts to feel the pressure of baby's head coming down, sometimes accompanied by the urge to push.Transition is best marked by it's emotional challenges. Often the birthing mother doesn't know what to do and may become panicked or scared.https://www.todaysparent.com

I ask that my clients call or text me as soon as they "think" labor may be starting. This doesn't mean always I'll head to the hospital. This just gives me a heads up that today may be the day. For some clients that call may be a false alarm, but for other clients, like Alison, that call may come as she's getting in the car being rushed to the hospital by her husband. Sometimes labor goes slowly.

And sometimes labor goes FAST. Alison warned me when she booked that her two previous labors had been very short, so I was on red-alert leading up to her due-date. I knew that she would have a 30-40 minute drive from her home to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope, AL and that it would take me 45-50 minutes to get there myself. When Alison called me around 7:30 that morning to tell me she was headed to the hospital, I asked how she was feeling and if she thought I should go ahead and head her way or if she'd rather I wait until she got checked in. She said I should hurry. And thank goodness she did!

I was changed and out my front door in under 5-minutes.Zipping across Baldwin county, Alabama, I arrived at the hospital 45-minutes later (thank goodness for valets) - only 10ish minutes after Alison and Sean's arrival at the ER. By the time I got to their room, Alison was already in transition even though just over an hour before she'd been going about her morning like normal. Baby was coming and he was coming now.Four minutes after I arrived in the deliver room, Alison's obstetrician arrived from his office next door to check her only to tell her it was time to have her baby. Four minutes later, their baby boy was born!

Every labor is different. Every birth is different. Every baby is different. But I will do everything in my power (and break some speeding laws) to get to you in time when at all possible!

Another question my birth photography clients always ask is how long I stay after the birth. The short answer is 1 - 2 hours. The longer answer is: I stay to document golden hour as you bond with your baby, I stay to capture baby's first weight and length and footprints, I stay to capture baby's first latch (if you decide to breastfeed), I stay and quietly click away capturing all of the special moments and details while the Oxytocin courses through your body as you breathe in your new baby!

And sometimes, when I feel it's the right thing to do, I stay a bit longer.

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Photography offers Birth Photography in northwest Florida and south Alabama that is timeless and unforgettable. Maternity, birth, and newborn photography sessions should be booked early in the second trimester to ensure availability at the time of delivery. Amanda offers a high-end, full service experience including a pre-session consultation, exclusive access to her Maternity and Newborn wardrobe, an online proofing gallery to share and download your included high-resolution digital images, and an array of professional print, canvas, and album options. I can’t wait to hear from you and help create your own beautiful heirloom memories!Pensacola Birth Photographer | Pensacola Photographer | Northwest Florida Birth Photographer | Pensacola Birth Photography | Fairhope Birth Photography | Fairhope Birth Photographer | Pensacola Birth Photography

Just before the Big Latch On itself, this year's speaker - Kelly Rowland, local mom, business coach, and host of The Balanced Podcast shared about her NICU experience with her twins, life as a mom, and the upcoming release of her new book!Then, the highlight of the event: at 10:30 am (CST), moms from all of the globe latched on and nursed their babies together!

After the Latch On, we wrapped up the morning by drawing raffle prizes donated by some amazing local businesses.

Throughout the event, yours truly was set up in the atrium offering free breastfeeding portraits to any and all attendees. Below is just a sampling...

A short 90 minute drive east down I-10 from Pensacola, will take you to the small town of Ponce de Leon, FL, Once you get off the interstate at exit 96, you're no more than a 10 minute drive from one of the three (3) stunning, crystal-clear springs!

Although not literally the 'fountain of youth,' Juan Ponce de Leon hoped to find when he landed in Florida in 1513, the spring bearing his name has been a refreshing detour for many visitors over the years. ... European settlers and the Indians before them used Ponce de Leon Springs as a source of drinking water and recreation. The harvesting of timber and turpentine were the major industries in and around the area. The majestic long-leaf pines were ideal for building homes, businesses and the railroad that traversed the panhandle of Florida.

The water temperature of Ponce de Leon Spring remains a breathtaking 68° year round. The main spring is a convergence of two underground water flows, and produces 14 million gallons of water daily. Along with the spring, the park also has 2 nature trails, several pavilions, plenty of picnic tables, and even a few grills for visitor's use.​

Our older kid's favorite thing to do is jumping off the platform into the mouth of the spring. In fact, they've been leaping off that platform into the chilly spring waters since they were 7 and 5 years old! (The picture below is of our now 14-year-old taking her very first leap into the spring - with her daddy at her side - at the age of 7.)

Our youngest has zero interest in leaping into the water, so he spends most of his time splashing in the spring run - where it's more shallow and a tad warmer.

The park and spring are open year-round. Some winter visitors even refer to the water as warm when compared to cooler outside temperatures. So, if you're looking to get out of town and explore the gulf coast, give one of Ponce de Leon, FL's springs a try.

When someone you've known for over 20 years asks you to take her maternity portraits, the stakes are pretty high.Back before husbands and responsibilities, heck back before we even had drivers licenses, Jessica and I used to take weekly horseback riding lessons together. We were "those girls." The girls who pretty much ate, slept, and breathed horses. (Oh the pictures I could share. But I won't.) What I will share is just a few Jessica's stunning maternity photographs from her Pensacola Beach Maternity session.

With storms immediately to the north, south, and west of us, we lucked out with a light breeze, lower humidity, and just the right number of clouds to give us a perfect, soft light. And (as you can see in a few of the pictures below), the clouds provided a beautiful landscape for our background as well.

Thanks to my handy-dandy pop-up changing-tent, clients can have as many outfit changes as they'd like during their session no matter the location. Jessica had requested 2 of my Chicaboo maternity gowns, and I brought along a 3rd "just in case." She ended up wearing, and loving all 3 gowns!

If you're looking for a Maternity photographer who captures not only the beauty of your pregnant body but also the connect between you and your significant other, Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Photography is your northwest Florida or south Alabama photographer! I capture your growing family’s connections, emotions, and moments in a fun, natural way. Located in Pensacola and also offering family, newborn, and birth photography, service areas include but are not limited to Perdido Key, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach, Navarre, Pace, Milton, and Cantonment in Florida and Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, Fairhope, and Daphne in south Alabama. Amanda offers a full service experience including exclusive access to her Maternity and Newborn wardrobe, an online proofing gallery to share and download your included high-resolution digital images, and an array of professional print, canvas, and album options. I can’t wait to hear from you and help create your own beautiful heirloom memories!